[16], The U.S. Army Center of Military History states that the 99th RSC does not perpetuate the lineage and honors of the 99th Infantry Division. Plans called for the division to include the 393rd, 394th, 395th, and 396th Infantry Regiments. Crossing on the 23d, it pushed east on the Koln-Frankfurt highway to Giessen. A U.S. Army World War II division was configured as a Triangular division, with three regimental maneuver elements. provides support December 1944. The German armor, with SS Panzergrenadiers riding on their decks, clattered down the icy roads of Rocherath and headed for Krinkelt, only a stones throw away. [citation needed]. After clearing towns west of the Rhine, it crossed the Ludendorff Bridge at Remagen on the 11th. . Pennsylvania State College, and the Pennsylvania Military College. The National WWII Museum Digital Collections. It was demobilized on 30 November 1918, but was later reconstituted on 21 June 1921 as a member of the Organized Reserves just like the 99th Infantry Division. The 99th battled on to the bridge at Remagen that was taken on March 7th. The division headquarters was organized in November 1921. Gallagher (1 May 1945 29 September 1945), Organized Reserves redesignated 25 March 1948 as the Organized Reserve Corps; redesignated 9 July 1952 as the Army Reserve, Relieved 29 October 1998 from assignment to the 99th Infantry Division, Redesignated 17 October 1999 as the 395th Regiment and reorganized to consist of the 1st, 2d, and 3d Battalions, elements of the. In early December, the front was unusually calm and the weather was bone-chilling cold. TO: Division Surgeon, 99th Infantry Division I. The 395th Infantry Regiment was disposed defensively from north to south with the 3rd Battalion in the Hfen area in Germany, the 2nd Battalion was in the center at Kalterherberg, and the 1st Battalion remained on the regiment's right, southeast of Kalterherberg. Due in part to the 99th Infantry Division, this ground mission has not been continuous, and he will not achieve his goal[15]. 3/395, soon to be nicknamed Butlers Blue Battlin Bastards, was one of the only US Army units that did not retreat in the opening days of the battle. During the first morning of the Battle of the Bulge, they defended a key road junction in the vicinity of the Losheim Gap. By the end of the December 16, much of the American front lines in the Ardennes had been broken by the German assault. The thick forest was tangled with rocky gorges, little streams, and sharp hills. The enemy was moving through large gaps in the lines, and Americans were either being captured or killed in enormous numbers or retreating in disarray and panic. Hfen-Monschau was vital to the operations success because the nearby road junctions would enable rapid movement of tanks. It was organized with the rest of the 99th on 16 November 1942 at Camp Van Dorn, Mississippi. The terrain was open and rolling, and over six weeks the 3rd Battalion prepared dug-in positions that possessed good fields of fire. The 395th Infantry Regiment was an infantry regiment of the United States Army, part of the 99th Infantry Division during World War II. The 3rd Battalion of the 395th Infantry Regiment (3/395), commanded by Lieutenant Colonel McClernand Butler, occupied the town of Hfen on the German border. This quick infusion of personnel into the 99th Division occurred in March 1944, when more than 3000 joined the division. Those Germans who made it into the town itself were quickly mopped up. There Major Butler collapsed due to exhaustion on 30 April, and Lt. Col. J. The rapid advance did not deter the men of the 38th Infantry Regiment, however, who put up a fierce defense. Excited to share my latest group in the 99th Infantry Division collection. Hfen, along with the nearby town of Monschau, was strategically vital because it sat on elevated terrain overlooking an important road junction. 99th Infantry Division (United States) | Military Wiki | Fandom [17]:51, On another day, the 3rd Battalion took 50 Germans prisoner and killed or wounded more than 800 Germans, losing only five dead and seven wounded themselves. In the northern portion of the American line, heavy artillery shells crashed around the positions of the un-tested 99th Infantry Division from Lanzerath in the south to the forested areas near Monschau in the north. The ferocious assault caught the Allies off-guard and the rapid German advance famously caused a bulge on Allied maps. 99th Infantry Division (United States) - Wikipedia Either short or completely devoid of ammunition, the defenders of Rocherath began to filter to the rear in the growing darkness that swallowed the battlefield. Yet, despite their successful defense and reinforcement from the 2nd Division, the 395th was in a precarious position on the morning of the December 17. A popular historical anecdote is the design of the famous M1 carbine by convicted murderer David Marshall Williams. A group of photos from his wartime, unfortenately we have not been able to. Two months later, when the 99th Division was transferred to VII Corps under Maj. Gen. Walter E. Lauer, the commanding officer of V Corps, Maj. Gen. Clarence R. Huebner, wrote him: The 99th Infantry Division arrived in this theater without previous combat experience early in November 1944. The 99th then moved to Schwarzenau, on 3 April, and attacked the southeast sector of the Ruhr Pocket on the 5th. On 1 February 1944, Major Butler assumed command of the 3rd Battalion, 395th Regiment. Shield The 395th Infantry, Organized Reserves, was organized in 1921. Battle of Elsenborn Ridge - Wikipedia The 395th Infantry was in the woods east of the northernmost section of the 2d Division withdrawal route and would provide cover for the first stage of the tricky move parallel to and close. 3d Battalion (TS)(AR) 395th Regiment - GlobalSecurity.org 99th Infantry Division shoulder sleeve insignia, Army Battle Casualties and Nonbattle Deaths, Final Report (Statistical and Accounting Branch, Office of the Adjutant General, 1 June 1953), Distinguished Service Cross (United States), "Battle of the Bulge: U.S. Specific units were charged with penetrating Germany's West Wall. Shield Argent, a buck's head attired of ten tynes couped Proper. While the 99th was fully involved in this large mobilization, the headquarters moved to Coraopolis, Pennsylvania. A. Gallagher assumed command for the last few days of the war. The Germans were operating under a tight timetable, however, and the assaults center of gravitythe 6th Panzer Armyhad only one day to breach the 99th IDs line. The 99th Infantry Division received recruits from the ASTP program (Army Specialized Training Program, to make up for the personnel shortages in front line units during 1944. The Allied victory against the Axis was a long journeyone that actually took much longer than the war itself. They then crossed the Wied River, where they joined up with the 7th Infantry Division. Allies and former enemy Germany mark 75th anniversary of Battle of Battle of the Bulge: WWII vets travel to Belgium for 75th anniversary. Soldiers who were in direct support of the relief efforts were also awarded the Humanitarian Service Medal as a personal award. By December 1944, Allied armies had reached the western border of Germany itself. The division crossed the Danube near Eining on the 27th and after a stubborn fight the Isar at Landshut on 1 May. Was the 5th infantry at the battle of the bulge? 18 Dec 44-7 Jan 45 Attached to 2d Infantry Division, Blandford (Longton Long, Dorset Barracks), 370th Field Artillery Battalion (105mm Howitzer), 371st Field Artillery Battalion (105mm Howitzer), 924th Field Artillery Battalion (105mm Howitzer), 372d Field Artillery Battalion (155mm Howitzer). Fort Benning | Maneuver Center of Excellence Libraries | MCoE HQ [13], German prisoners captured during the Battle of the Bulge volunteered praise of the 99th's effective defense of Hfen. [13], To the north of Hfen lay a paved main road that led through the Monschau Forest, at whose eastern edge it forked. [14], The 99th as a whole, outnumbered five to one, inflicted casualties in the ratio of eighteen to one. Motto VIGILANS ET CELER (Vigilant and Swift). 394th Infantry Regiment Medical Detachment (99th Infantry Division), Medical History, December 1944. The 395th was held in the United States until more room was available for the unit to enter Europe. Medical Detachment, 395th Infantry A. P. O. This article contains content in the public domain from U.S. military sources. I never dreamed that we would have a defensive position of this size without any backup or help from our division or regiment. For four successive days the battalion held this sector against combined German tank and infantry attacks, launched with fanatical determination and supported by heavy artillery. [4], Distinguished Service Cross (United States), "Lineage And Honors Information, 395th Regiment Lineage", "World War II: Interview with Lieutenant Colonel McClernand Butler", "The Operations of the 3rd Battalion, 395th Infantry (99th Infantry Division) Prior to and During the German Counter-Offensive, 10November 24 December 1944 (Ardennes Campaign) (Personal Experience of a Company Commander and Battalion Operations Officer)", "Why the Bulge Didn't Break: Green Troops Grew Up Fast to Become Heroes of Hofen", "The Battle of the Bulge Part II Holding the Line (review)", "Chapter 5: The Ardennes, the Battle of the Bulge", "Battle of the Bulge: U.S. At the end of the day, the veterans of the 26th Infantry still held their groundand looked out on a battlefield strewn with destroyed German armor and scores of enemy dead. Cited in the Order of the Day of the Belgian Army for action at Elsenborn Crest. : 33 On at least six occasions they called in . Field Artillery Battalions were the 370th, 371st, 372nd & the 924th. Butler's great-grandfather, General John Alexander McClernand, commanded infantry during the Civil War. [15], The 395th hit the attacking Germans with such terrific small arms and machine gun fire that the Germand couldn't even remove their dead and wounded in their rapid retreat. The black background That was not the case for the Americans near Elsenborn. The camp was newly built, and the barracks were covered in tar paper. The real crusher to the German offensive plans in the Ardennes occurred 46 miles north east of Bastogne, in a small area consisting of a copse of small villages and a piece of high ground called Elsenborn Ridge. Troops Fight at Elsenburn Ridge", "Why the Bulge Didn't Break: Green Troops Grew Up Fast to Become Heroes of Hofen", "The Battle for Lanzerath HillThe True Story16December1944", "A hero remembers the Battle of the Bulge", "The Heroic Stand of an Intelligence Platoon", "General Orders No. Delbert followed a communication training and became enlisted radio repairman. Location of the 99th ID sector (red box) on a map of the Bulge. At dusk on 16 December, after virtually no sleep during the preceding night and a full day of almost non-stop combat, with only a few rounds of ammunition remaining, about 50 German paratroopers finally flanked and captured the remaining 19 soldiers. Sgt Harold Rutz, 395th Infantry Regiment, M Company. The breakout from Saint-L, France was accomplished far more rapidly than Allied planners had dared hope, and American units plunged through the French countryside with undreamed of rapidity, far in advance of operational plans. Fort Benning | Maneuver Center of Excellence Libraries | MCoE HQ And while the defense of the crossroads of hell was gallant to be sure, it was not the back breaker that most people assume it to have been. "[9]:1738 On at least six occasions they called in artillery strikes on or directly in front of their own positions. Lieutenant Colonel McClernand Butler, commander of 3/395. The 395th Regiment's success earned it many difficult assignments. The 395th were moved by train and truck, and finally by foot, to front line positions near the German town of Hfen a few kilometers west of the Siegfried Line and near the Belgium-German border. Butler said, "The biggest difficulty in carrying out a night attack is control, and having men who can coordinate well as a team in the dark. In early December, much of the Allied forces were established in a general defensive line from the North Sea to the Swiss border. "[13] The division continued to attack without opposition to the Inn River and Giesenhausen until VE-day. The statue of the Minute Man, Captain John Parker, (H.H.Kitson, sculptor), stands on the common in Lexington, Massachusetts. The blue and white checkerboard in the division's insignia is taken from the coat of arms of William Pitt, for whom Pittsburgh is named. The 395th Infantry, Organized Reserves, was organized in 1921. On at least six different occasions the battalion was forced to place artillery concentrations dangerously close to its own positions in order to repulse penetrations and restore its lines . In the northern sector opposite the 99th, this included more than 4,000 deaths and the destruction of 60 tanks and big guns. Staff Sergeant, Service Company, 395th Infantry Regiment, 99th Infantry Division, ETO, participated in the Battle of the Bulge, the Ruhr Pocket, and the Occupation of Germany, recipient of the Bronze Star. This was the most southern area of the Battle of the Bulge. The defense of Rocherath that had been held most of the day by infantry was decided in less than thirty minutes by 5 German tanks. [11] They continued to Linz am Rhein and to the Wied River. Because of Major Butler's success in leading his battalion in successful night attacks during the war, which the U.S. Army handbook did not recommend, the French army later asked him to write a paper on battalion-size night attacks.[6]. The Army operated a program designed to capitalize on the large number of educated and intelligent recruits that were available. [8], That is three to four times wider than recommended by Army textbooks. After failing to capture Monschau on the battles second day, the 326th Volksgrenadier Division turned its attention back to Hfen on December 18th. In March 1945, the 99th advanced into the Rhineland, crossing the Rhine River at Remagen on March 11. The shield is silver, the old color of Infantry. Army policy does not allow for the lineage and honors of a TO&E organization, such as an infantry division, to be perpetuated by a TDA organization, such as an RSC. On 17 October 1999, the 3rd Battalion, 395th Regiment was reactivated as an Armor Training Support (TS) Battalion. It was like a golf course, so I used the night for concealment."[6]. With ammunition supplies dwindling rapidly, the men obtained German weapons and utilized ammunition obtained from casualties to drive off the persistent foe. This required the corps commander to draw on an infantry battalion from another division, and because of the reputation the 395th had earned at Hfen, it was transferred often to various divisions, including the 9th Infantry Division, the 3rd Armored Division, and the 7th Armored Division. April 13th, 1945 - 99th Division, 395th Infantry Regiment, in the Ruhr Butler attended, but did not graduate from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. The battalion also had its own Intelligence and Reconnaissance Platoon, as well as medics and support personnel. The division was reconstituted in the Organized Reserve on 24 June 1921 and assigned to the western half of the state of Pennsylvania. At precisely 0530 hours, the forest erupted in an ear shattering German artillery barrage along a 100 mile front. The insignia was devised upon the 99th's formation in 1942 when the division was headquartered in the city of Pittsburgh. This page was last edited on 11 March 2022, at 19:44. Their success in defending Hfen resulted in the 395th Infantry being repeatedly assigned to other divisions for difficult assignments during the remainder of the war, earning them the sobriquet, Butler's Blue Battlin' Bastards. When I got to Hfen, I found the area too big to cover in one afternoon. the horizontal band of white and blue squares was adopted from the coat of arms These would later prove instrumental in defending themselves from the attacking Germans and in protecting themselves when their own artillery fired on or just in front of their own positions, which happened at least six times over the next few weeks. 99th Infantry Division soldiers putting up a winterized squad hut. They inflicted disproportionate casualties on the Germans, and were one of the only units that did not give ground during the Battle of the Bulge. Ehrenfried-Oskar Bge. 395th Infantry Regiment, 99th Infantry Division | American Battle George Co 2/395-IR (99-ID) Schleiden - Germany December 1944 [14] The first town they were tasked with capturing was Bergheim, "the door to the Rhine." No reserves were available .